Know Thine
by The Narrator
Summary: Zutara drabble Can you really hate someone you don't even know? Inspired by Rashaka's Insta!Fic Challenge, has become a drabble series. Yes, be afraid! 4 thru 6 Installments: Irrel's My Chemical Romance ficprompts!
1. Know Thine

This is a bad sign. I'm starting to get sucked into writing Zutara drabbles (it's like... eating sour jellybeans, freakin' addictive. (ahem!)). This may or may not becomea series, but at the very least, this drabble was inspired by **Rashaka**-san's Insta!Fic 24-hour challenge on katarazuko (LJ community). The prompt was: _"I don't really know you at all," came the whisper, "But..."_

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine, tho I own the first 2 DVDs now!

* * *

_**Know Thine…**_

"I don't really know you at all," came the whisper, "But..."

Hands paused, hovering above torn flesh, the silver-blue glow of healing fading slightly.

"… you've always been my enemy. Why do you think that is?"

No answer; the healing hands descended, the soothing water mending muscle and skin with ease seemingly unremarkable.

"I mean, to really hate someone, you'd think you'd have to have some idea of who they are first, right?"

Almost finished - there would be no scar, no hint at all that lifeblood once gushed forth from this smoothed flesh.

"And yet… that's how we got this way. I hate you, you hate me, and we're enemies."

No point in trying to save the water once it had served its purpose; the thirsty earth drank deeply of the sacred offering.

"Other than that, all I know is that you're the Avatar's follower - if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have given you a second glance. I wouldn't even have a reason to know your name."

Temptation to answer, to retort with all the cutting hostility such heedlessly insulting declarations deserved, swallowed with discipline only recently learned.

"So, logically - if we did know each other better, we might learn we had no reason to be enemies anymore."

_'Or we'd learn we had even better reasons to stay enemies.'_ Unspoken bitterness, moving away to attend to something else, something to distract from the present unwelcome company.

"Or we might become worse enemies; that's just as likely. More likely."

Nodding unconscious agreement; hands once set to saving and healing set about to nourishment and feeding.

"Katara…"

"Yes?"

Amber eyes, stone-dark with fading fever and diminishing pain, flickered to victorious life. "I know something about you now."

"What would that be?"

"You're really stupid, saving the life of an enemy. That doesn't surprise me, though."

"Zuko…"

"Yes?"

"I know something about you, too."

"Hm?"

"You're a real jerk. But I'm not surprised either."

Death-silence, and then, ever-so-softly, shared laughter from two enemies.

* * *

Because Zutara is all about the snark, and you know it. 


	2. Don't Think, Just Do

Heh, guess this is turning out to be a drabble-series after all... (absolutely no connection to the previous drabble, mind you) Check my profile for link to the companion fanart of this fic!

**Disclaimer:** read - FANGIRL + FANFICTION NO PROFIT FOR ME. (sob!)

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* * *

_**

**_Heat_**

"I see you've learned some new tricks," he snarled at her defiantly.

"I see you've gotten dumber," she shot back, "I'd have thought you'd learned not to attack me at night since the last time."

Zuko knew he should probably shut up, that this was _not_ the time to engage in witty, sarcastic banter with his opponent.

Especially when said opponent had him pinioned to the ground, thick manacles of ice encasing his wrists and ankles, her own weight pinning his torso, her muscular thighs digging into his sides.

There was also the small, insignificant matter of the sharp and pointy ice-shard dagger the peasant had at his throat, which she would most likely drive through his trachea if he so much as twitched, if only through incompetence. _'Stupid Water Tribe peasant. Stupid pointy ice-dagger.' _

"I wasn't attacking you," Zuko growled, not because he was trying to be especially threatening, but because keeping his voice low would keep the girl from getting over-excited.

"Oh really?" she drawled sarcastically, "So, you jumping out from behind a tree and swinging your swords at my head was the Fire Nation way of saying 'Good evening'?"

"I didn't even know it was _you_," Zuko replied disgustedly, immediately regretting the admission. It was not his fault he had been so jumpy; anyone with a sociopathic younger sister bent on fratricide on their on their heels would rightly be so paranoid, suddenly running headlong into someone on a moonlit night in a trackless forest_. 'Stupid Azula. Stupid moon.'_

"Are you saying you're not just rude, but incompetent, also?"

Zuko grit his teeth, wishing she would just shut up and stop rubbing it in. How was he supposed to remember that red-hot metal, when flash-frozen, tends to warp like a frenzied fish? He had been lucky his wrists hadn't been broken when his swords flew from his hands. "Look, I'm not after the Avatar," he bit out, deciding he had nothing to lose at this point, "Matter of fact, _I'm_ the one being chased here."

Technically, since no one had burst in on their little bending spat leading up to his current ridiculous predicament, Azula must have lost his trail. Trading pursuit for capture (and possible impalement) could hardy be called improving one's situation, however.

She blinked, an absurd look of confusion crossing her face. "Why should I believe you?" she demanded.

Zuko rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to whack back of his head against the hard ground in frustration. "Do I have to spell it out for you? How many times have I said, 'Give me the Avatar or else' since I've run into you?"

"Ummm…" He could almost hear the wheels grinding in her head. "None," she realized in shock.

He gave her a Look.

"That doesn't mean anything, though," she snapped, giving him a basilisk glare and a little jab with her ice-dagger.

"Will you _quit doing that!_" Zuko hissed, not liking the tickling sensation of a trickle of blood sliding down the side of his neck in the least.

"Give me one good reason why I should."

A jet of blue flame roared past Katara's ear - she only avoided it by throwing herself flat on Zuko.

"That good enough for you?" Zuko _would _have said, but the mouthful of tunic prevented him from getting the words out.

Katara dissolved Zuko's manacles and rolled off to one side, on her feet in an instant.

"My, my, my, Zuzu," Azula sneered, flanked by her two companions, "Are you sure you have the leisure for _playtime_?"

"Shut up!" the offended Fire Nation prince and (equally offended) Water Tribe peasant retorted in stereo, unleashing a intriguingly coordinated attack of flame, water, and steam…

_**FIN...?****

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**_

Okay, soI lied. This isn't a drabble. It's the half-assed starting point of an obligatory Zutara epic that I'm too lazy to work on right now. Blarh.


	3. Experiments: The White Room

Narrator here. Well, this one-shot (I hesitate to call it a "drabble," as it is all together too long!) is the result of a LiveJournal fic-challenge issued by **rashaka**: put Zuko and Katara in a "white room" and go from there. Apparently, this theme is as prolific as "blanket scenarios," although I have never come across it before. _Soooo_...

I tried making it light and fluffy. The muse declared otherwise. (headdesk) At least I got _some_ amount of silliness into it!

**Disclaimer:** _Avatar: The Last Airbender- _Still not mine!

* * *

**_Experiments_**

"... two… three!"

A beat of silence.

"Ha! Rock beats scissors! Ha!"

"You cheated! You waited until I'd already…!"

"Oh, quite whining."

"… Best out of 49?"

"… okay."

"One… two…"

* * *

Katara stretched, working the kinks out of her back. _'Can people die of boredom?'_ she wondered, having reached that stage of ennui wherein one's brain feels as though it is slowly turning into a warm tapioca pudding. After time interminable, she had been reduced to tallying all the cracks in the floor… and the walls… and the ceiling (what she could see of it, at least). _'1,739 seems like an awful lot… they should really talk to the person who built this place. Especially that really big one over there that goes from the ceiling to the floor… the foundation must be settling faster than…'_

"Dammit, _LET ME OUT OF HERE!_"

Katara winced as the incredibly loud shout reverberated through the empty space, slamming into walls, ceiling, and floor, seeming to echo and magnify. She cast a disgruntled glare at the room's other occupant.

"_YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE FOREVER!_" Zuko yelled, slamming fireball after fireball into the recently blank face of the wall through which the strange Earthbender had thrust him, sealing the stone as soon as his feet touched the floor on the other side.

"How long do you intend to keep that up?" an irritated voice asked behind him.

The corner of Zuko's right eye spasmed. "Until I burn this wall into ash or that insane bastard lets me out," he answered through tightly grit teeth, not turning around.

"I don't think either's very likely," Katara observed, "That guy seemed pretty determined to carry out his "experiment." And that rock's got to be at least two feet thick. This one time, in Omashu…"

"Gyah!" Three fireballs slammed into the charred stone in quick succession.

"… if my trying to have a conversation is bothering you that much, you could have just said so," said Katara, rather more sulkily than she meant to. "Making nice" with someone as moody and withdrawn as Zuko could hardly be called "fun," but it was a heck of a lot more interesting than the enumerating architectural defects of the strangest (and most boring) prison cell she had ever been the unfortunate resident of.

Never mind that Zuko was also "someone-who-was-an-enemy-but-maybe-not-quite-anymore," and that Aang was better at stuff like that.

Or that the prison cell in Omashu had been "newly refurbished."

Katara went back to staring at the ceiling, wondering what time it was. Or what day it was, for that matter.

Or when Aang, Sokka, and Toph would be coming to get her out of this hellhole.

Or when Zuko would finally collapse from his idiotic campaign against the wall and be quiet if he was not going to talk like a civilized person.

_'I'm reeeeeeeeeeaaally starting to hate the color white…'_ Katara realized.

* * *

"… oh, crud…" 

"What now?"

"I just realized something."

"What? A brilliant plan to get us out of here? Otherwise, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that was my job. Of course, something like that is a lot easier when two people try talking to each other to figure a problem out."

"You have a point, right?"

"… where are we supposed to go to the bathroom?"

"…"

* * *

Zuko stared hard at the blackened, ash-encrusted wall that had thus far defied all his power. _'I'm sure Uncle would have some annoying proverb to recite over this whole stupid situation,'_ he thought, then shook his head like a rhino harassed by a pesky fly. _'That's not helping - think, dammit! Regular fire attacks aren't enough. You need something more powerful. Much more powerful…'_

"Hey, you…"

Katara looked up from the globule of water she had been bending into various geometric shapes. "My name's not 'Hey, you,' it's… oh, never mind!" Katara had given up trying to convince Zuko to at least call her by name. _'I'm going to start calling him 'Angry Boy' if he doesn't quit it…'_ "What do you want?" she asked, bending the water back into her canteen.

"Get to the back of the room. Now."

"Why should I?" Katara demanded, hackles immediately rising at his pretentious tone of voice, "Who do you think you are, bossing me around like that!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and glared over his shoulder at her. "I'm going to try using lightning against this wall."

Katara blinked. "You can manipulate lightning? I thought only the highest masters of firebending could…"

"_Yes_, I'm aware that only the best of the best firebending masters can use lightning, thank you," Zuko interrupted acerbically, the reminder of his deficiencies less than comforting, "But I'm going to try."

"'Try'?" Katara echoed, suddenly getting the ole' familiar Feeling of Impending Doom. Lightning was far more dangerous than regular fire, even a waterbender like her knew that. One only had to watch a thunderstorm in operation to realize it. And for someone who admitted they had no certain control over such a radical power…

Zuko read all his own self-doubts in the Water Tribe girl's face. "If you'd rather rot in here, waiting for your precious Avatar to rescue you, that's up to you. But I can't afford to. I'm getting out of here, on my _own_ power." Zuko about-faced, focusing his attention on the wall. _'Put it out of your mind,'_ he told himself, feeling the girl's worried eyes on his back, _'Put _her_ out of your mind… Find the center uncle talked about…'_

_'He's really going to try it,'_ Katara realized, watching as Zuko assumed a neutral stance, one that was far more relaxed than any she had ever witnessed from the young man. Even so, she could tell he was concentrating intently. Instinctively, Katara backed up; suddenly, the cavernous room seemed all too small. _'But what if he screws up, and suddenly this whole room is full of lightning?'_ a panicky little voice squeaked in her head,_ 'It'll be like being in the middle of a storm cloud - there'll be no safe place!'_

Katara's heart began thudding in her chest so loudly, she was surprised Zuko did not snap at her for breaking his concentration. _'Stop him! Stop him before he kills us both!'_ She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, willing her body into stillness - Zuko was about to attempt something very dangerous. Trying to stop him now might be the worst thing she could possibly do. She had to trust him.

_'If there is a benevolent being in heaven, earth, or hell,'_ she prayed fervently, _'Please, don't let him screw up and fry us.'_

"Hah!" Zuko released the building power within him in a single, powerful burst, every cell and fiber of his body in sync. For a split second, his vision filled with lurid blue light…

_ka-**BOOM!**_

Katara shrieked and clapped her hands over ears, her body jerking into a reflexive protective fetal position as the concussive shockwave of the explosion slammed into her, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Ow…" Katara pulled herself upright, quickly running an assessment of her vitals: heart still beating, check; limbs still attached to torso, check… _Cough, cough, hack, cough!_ lungs in working order despite all the acrid dark smoke filling the air, check. "Did it work?" she asked hesitantly, waving her hand in front of her watering eyes, trying to get a clear view through the smoke. "Zuko?" Walking forward, Katara called out again. "Zuko? Hey, stop ignorin- whoa!"

She did not even have to look back to know what (who) she had tripped on.

(His body was very still)

She did not even have to look down to know that it was bad.

(His pale face was bloodless)

She did even have to look to know that all the precious water she had been conserving would be needed.

(The pale floor was stained crimson)

She set to work.

* * *

_'I'm never going to get it right…'_

"This is what stubbornness gets you."

_'… I might never find what I'm looking for…'_

"I hope you're happy."

_'… but that doesn't mean anything…'_

"At least use some of that stubbornness to pull yourself together! I can't do all the work here."

_'… because I'm always going to keep fighting…'_

* * *

_'… singing… no, humming… someone's humming…'_

Hearing returned to him first. He could hear his heartbeat, the rush of blood whooshing in his ears. He could hear his breathing, and the emptiness of the air surrounding him. Finally, he could hear a voice, wordless song, notes thrumming in the empty air, ascending and descending scale.

Smell and taste combined. Smoke, tinged sour with electricity, fit to choke even someone accustomed to all the byproducts of flame. By shifting just slightly, a new smell, one that the noxious vapor had concealed, the scent of cloth washed with rain and clouds, and the sea, and fur.

Touch and feeling returned all too quickly, his whole body awakening to pain. Except that there was comforting warmth, too, and the sensation of fingers softly combing his hair.

The humming continued, musical without tune, familiar and distant.

_'Mother?'_ "Ngh…"

Katara stopped humming abruptly, her hand on Zuko's forehead stilling (she had not even realized she had been playing with his hair). "Zuko?" she asked, whipping her hand away and staring down anxiously at the face cradled in her lap.

"…I'm not dead?" Zuko asked faintly, cracking his eyes open.

If it had been Sokka, Katara would have laughed, and gently pummeled him for being silly. If it had been Aang, she would have cried with relief and hugged him. If it had been Toph… _'Well, if it ever comes to that…'_

But it was Zuko. "No," she replied simply, "The lightning… or whatever it was… it didn't break the wall down, but it did knock you back pretty hard. Your head hit the floor, and…"

"And?" Zuko prompted, managing to open his eyes fully. Katara's face, darkened with smoke, made her blue eyes all the more startling bright aqua in comparison.

Katara's brow knitted. "I healed you. I told you I could help, that one time, remember? I can use water to heal people."

"… oh." Zuko blinked.

Silence.

"You're welcome by the way," Katara muttered, "Do you think you can sit up now? You're head's very heavy, and I've been sitting like this for a while."

Zuko complied, sitting up very carefully and slowly, his body screaming in protest the whole way. He felt, rather than saw, Katara make a motion to assist him; he was rather more happy that she held back.

Katara sighed in relief, easing her legs out from under her. She had no way of knowing how long, exactly, she had served as her patient's cushion, but her legs informed her that it had been more than long enough. "Ow, ow, ow, owowowowowowow…!" she whimpered to herself, getting to her feet with extreme care. The blood rushing through neglected veins made her feel like she was standing on millions of pins, while fire ants crawled up and down her legs. "Eurgh…"

Zuko fingered the back of his head, finding the slightest bump in his cranium that may or may not have been there before.

"So…"

Katara glanced at him as she tried bringing up one of her legs behind her.

"You ready to try and figure a way to get out of here?"

"Do the moon and the sun rise in the east?"

* * *

"Well, that's it. I'm out of ideas." 

"Me, too. And now my head hurts."

"… mine, too."

"Wanna play a game?"

"Hn?"

"Nothing like Twenty questions, I can't think anymore. Rock-paper-scissors?"

"… okay. Best two out of three."

"Okay."

"One… two…"

* * *

"The secondary subject injured itself severely in its last attempt to escape, but the site remains uncompromised." 

"How severely?"

"I was about to send in our personnel to remove it."

"Oh?"

"Against expectations, the primary subject used her waterbending to heal it."

"… that _is_ unexpected. But her abilities…?"

"Have proven adequate. However, given present emotional proclivities, should I recommend termination of the experiment?"

"No. We shall continue observation. No sense in wasting time spent till now."

"Very well."

_**FIN**_

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I reeeeeeeeaaaaaally need to not read about German Romantics while writing fanfic... (blarh) 


	4. An Ugly Beginning

A couple of months ago, **Irrel** issued a fic-challenge with a list of prompts called "My Chemical Romance." Using three of those prompts, I sketched out a _very_ rough outline of "how Zutara would happen when/if Zuko and Iroh join the GAang." Yes, that particular plot devices is over-used, but it was fun.

Here is the first in the trilogy!

**Prompt:** #23 _For what you did to me…_(on Livejournal)

**Summary:** They have to start somewhere. That does not automatically mean it will be all fun and games.

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**_An Ugly Beginning_**

"Stop!"

They turn around at her demand, surprised as her companions.

"Katara, what are you doing?" Sokka hisses under his breath.

She does not acknowledge she hears, but faces the two Fire Nation fugitives determinedly. "Zuko – I challenge you to a bending duel." The words are her gauntlet, flung at his feet.

If Iroh is surprised, he conceals it well – Zuko does not (and neither do Aang and Sokka, for that matter). Toph merely does not care either way.

"No, Katara, you don't have to!" Aang tells her anxiously.

"You need someone to teach you firebending!" Katara points out, "And as much as I hate to admit it, they're the only firebenders around here who can! Unless you think we can find Jeong-Jeong again."

Aang cannot find fault in this argument. Sokka can, but one Look from Katara is enough to hold him back.

For now.

"You've met Master Jeong-Jeong?" Iroh inquires, impressed.

"We have," Katara affirms, "And he's taught Aang a few things, but not enough."  
"Prince Zuko…" Iroh turns to his nephew.

Zuko clenches his teeth, glaring at the impudent Water Tribe peasant. "I'll accept your challenge," he says lowly, "But only because you owe me a rematch."

"That's not good enough," she retorts, folding her arms across her chest, "The stakes have to be higher. If I win, you and your uncle teach Aang firebending."

"And if I win?" he asks, unconsciously adopting the same posture.

Katara is at a loss – she has nothing to offer in return.

"Would not winning, in and of itself, be enough?" Iroh suggests off-handedly. "It is the fairest match imaginable between Fire and Water, seeing as the sun is setting, and a new moon is on the rise."

They all blink and stare at the old man, who smiles serenely in return.

Zuko wonders just what it is that his uncle is up to, but cannot deny that winning against this upstart girl will be quite satisfying.

Not that she has anything else to offer, other than the shame of her downfall.

"Very well – I accept defeating you as compensation enough for this waste of my time."

Katara resists the urge to punch him dead in the face only by reminding herself, _'This is for Aang, do this for Aang. Wiping that smug grin off his face will be a bonus!'_

"Let's do this."

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The battle begins on even ground – the setting sun and the ascendant new moon favor neither. Because Zuko can summon fire at will, Katara is allowed the aid of a small stream. Only the will to win can decide the outcome.

Zuko knows not to underestimate his enemy. After all, the girl improved nearly exponentially in the few months between that incident over the waterbending scroll and their battles at the North Pole. Raw talent shaped by dedication and training are a deadly combination.

He must not see her as herself, a young girl with dark skin and blue eyes and a travel-worn Water Tribe costume. Instead, she is Water: his antithesis, his opposite, the yang to his yin.

Katara knows her enemy has many advantages over her: age, experience, training. He frightened her for many months, and even after their run-in at the North Pole, she knows that he still does, if only for what he represents. He is a formidable opponent, and, no matter what Aang wants to believe, dangerous.

She sees him not as himself, a boy with a scarred face and gold eyes and road-stained Earth Kingdom clothes. Instead, he is Fire: the other extreme, her opposite, the yin to her yang.

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"Hah!"

Zuko attacks first, sending a fireball at her center, rushing after it to close the distance; she deflects it with a shield of ice, turns it to liquid, blasting him in the face and sending him off balance.

Aang has faith in Katara: she is his first teacher in this new and dangerous time, his first friend, his comfort and strength. _'She will win,'_ he tells himself.

Zuko comes in, low and fast, sweeping flame up into her face as a diversion, seeking to break her root. Katara slips past him, the first begins of a plan forming in her mind – she summons globules of water, turning them to ice, launching them at him.

He avoids them easily.

Sokka believes in his little sister: he has seen her grow from a toddling tag-along to a strong (even head-strong) waterbending warrior. She has overcome so many obstacles to become the master she is, and one day, she might not even need him. But Sokka can sense that day has not arrived. _'I'm here, Katara, I believe in you!'_ he tells her.

Katara is on the defensive, depending on her smaller size and lower center of gravity to foil Zuko's more head-on attacks. Zuko knows he can win a battle of endurance, if it comes down to it; but for now, he must not lose his focus. He sends arcs of fire at her, from his hands and feet, seeking to envelope her.

Toph is certain the Sugar Queen will win: she hates to admit it, but Katara has guts, and she is certainly not the type to back down, especially over something that involves Twinkle Toes (Toph wonders if she is jealous). _'You can do it, Sugar Queen,'_ Toph silently cheers.

Katara's strategy has almost come to fruition, but Zuko has her on the run – it takes everything in her to deflect his attacks. She has seeded the area with globes of ice; all she needs is one single opening. Zuko senses she is tiring, and closes in with greater fury and speed.

Iroh knows his nephew will lose: he has nothing for which he is fighting for, nothing more than his own personal pride, while the Water girl is fighting for the Avatar, her brother, her people, the world. Zuko is lost and uncertain, wavering on his path and tortured by his past; the girl willingly risks herself out of love for those around her, with hope in the future, and faith in the Avatar. _'Oh Zuko, can you not yet see the path before you?'_ Iroh asks his beloved nephew.

Zuko rushes in, heedless, wanting victory over all else, to defeat this girl, this enemy, who signifies all that stands in his way. She leans back, seeking to avoid his reach, but all he has to do is send her reeling with one final blow.

His foot rolls over an unseen ball of ice, and the battle is over.

Seeing her chance, Katara instantly drops all pretence of defense, leaving herself completely open as she rears up, turning the many icy orbs into thin lances of water, crisscrossing the intimate field of battle in a net of crystal that ensnares them both. Lunging forward, she bends a skein of it into a single sharp dagger that can easily slice through his exposed throat.

She does not notice that Zuko has grabbed her other arm by the wrist, or that his other hand is poised at her center, about to deliver a searing deathblow.

**_"ENOUGH!"_** Powerful hands tear the combatants apart, before the killing strikes fall. Katara is flung into her brother's steady arms, while Zuko is left standing, staring at his raging uncle in shock.

"Enough!" Iroh repeats, smoke actually curling from his nostrils, "I understand that both of you have something to prove, but tearing each other apart like this solves nothing!"

Zuko recovers first. "Uncle, why did you do that! I was about to win!"

"You were about to die!" his uncle retorts in a bellow that deafens like thunder, shaking Zuko by the scruff of his clothing, "She would have killed you, and you would have killed her!"

"I wasn't… I-I wouldn't…" Katara stutters, the adrenaline let-down of combat cut short sending her limbs atremble. She feels cold, so utterly cold.

"You would have," Aang tells her quietly, "I saw it. I would have stopped you, too, but Iroh got to you both first."

Sokka frowns at Aang, angered that he should accuse his sister of something so foul; he curbs his tongue, and holds his sister close, whispering calming words to soothe her shivering.

"Avatar," Iroh addresses Aang gravely, "If you would have me, and my nephew, I would be honored to be your teacher in the art of Firebending."

Aang hesitates, his eyes darting to Zuko, who stands frozen in place, his face ashen. "I humbly accept, Iroh of the Fire Nation," Aang says with equal gravity, bowing.

Iroh nods, and only then does he release Zuko.

"Well, now, isn't this nice – we're all going to be one happy family," Toph notes humorlessly in the awkward silence.

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All right, so it ain't the best start to fluffy-lovey-doveyness, but heck, they gotta start somewhere, right? If this is how it turns out in the series, I will be so happy. (and kinda creeped out)


	5. Starting Small

Part two of what is shaping up either to be a series of "how-they'll-come-together-and-kick-Fire-Nation-ass-and-Zutara-becomes-canon" drabbles, or a complete fic of the same genre. Probably the former, as I'm moving to Japan in less than a week... (sweatdrop)

**Prompt:** #38 _does anyone notice?_ of **Irrel's** "My Chemical Romance" fic-challenge (on LiveJournal)

**Summary:** When you start noticing the small things, you won't believe what you do.

**_------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

**_Starting Small_**

"You do realize that you call _more_ attention to yourself the way you're skulking around, right?"

Zuko raised his head incrementally to send the snippy Water Tribe peasant a patented Disdainful Princely Glare. "I do _not_ 'skulk,'" he told her flatly, "I just don't see why you insist on putting us all on display for the passing bounty hunter or Fire Nation agent."

"Well, unless you want to go hungry tonight, we need supplies, and this early in spring, Sokka's not having much luck hunting," Katara reminded him, politely refraining from adding that _Zuko's _own hunting forays were less than successful. "The only logical thing to do is go to a market – and since this market is far enough behind Earth Kingdom lines, we don't really need to worry about Fire Nation agents or bounty hunters who know about the reward your sister has placed on your head."

Zuko hated to admit that she was right – so far, the only reward posters they had seen concerning their group were the ones for Aang and Toph (the latter supposedly kidnapped by the former – Zuko wondered what drunken idiot had made _that_ charge). The pair in question had agreed to play it safe, staying on the outskirts of town with Iroh and Appa, where Aang could make good use of the time by practicing with his two sifu.

Zuko would have declined accompanying the two Water Tribe children into market had his uncle not given him a Look.

"Whatever," Zuko muttered, again lowering his head so that his wide-brimmed hat concealed his scarred face.

Katara sighed irritably and let him do as he pleased.

An uneasy truce of necessity had been called between the pair, ever since Iroh agreed to become Aang's firebending teacher. Despite the bending duel that had sealed the alliance, however, their differences were far from settled.

At the very least, a grudging mutual respect now reigned between the two former enemies.

Katara poked through an assortment of dried gourd-fruit, wishing they could afford to purchase some of the more extravagant and tasty melons on display.

"Hey, Katara!" Both Zuko and Katara looked to the third member of their party, waving to them from the front of a stall a few paces down. "Check this out!" Sokka called, a huge grin on his face.

"Coming!" Katara handed the stall-keeper three coins for the whole lot of gourd fruit, swept it into her basket, and hurried to join her brother.

Zuko, having nothing better to do, followed her.

"Awwwww, not that stuff!" Sokka complained, his smile faltering somewhat as he inspected Katara's shopping basket, "It tastes like dirt!"

"You'd know," Zuko could not help observing.

Sokka glared darkly. "Stuff it, Princey," he snapped.

"Sokka, what did you want to show me?" Katara headed off the imminent pissing contest almost automatically – it was bizarre to realize how used she was to the way the two youths interacted.

"I found something I think you'd like," Sokka said, easily regaining his former jovial demeanor. He gestured to the interior of the semi-dark stall.

Curious, Katara entered. Her eyes adjusted almost immediately, and she discovered that she was surrounded by… "Toys?"

Kites colored like rainbows swooped from the ceiling. To her left and right, and in front of her, shelves upon shelves of lacquer and cloth dolls, stuffed animals of every species, games (some she recognized, other she did not), tops, miniature instruments and the like offered a dazzling display of temptation for any child.

"Not just any toy – look at this!" Sokka brushed past her (it really was a small stall). He bent down and retrieved something from one of the lower shelves, which he tossed into Katara's startled arms.

She gasped, then made a soft squeal of delight. Zuko, who had been hanging back, rolling his eyes at the immaturity of the two peasants, came forward to look over her shoulder.

Two almond-shaped eyes of ebony stared up at him unblinkingly from a white face that contrasted startlingly with the black that framed it. Zuko dead-panned. It was a stuffed animal. A stuffed penguin, if one wanted to be specific

"Reminds you of home, doesn't it?" Sokka asked warmly.

"Yes…" Katara breathed, her arms tightening ever-so-slightly around the soft body, her fingers absently playing with one of the velveteen flippers. "Remember, how the first thing Aang said to me was that he wanted to go penguin-sledding?"

"Yeah – I thought he was joking!" Sokka replied, pleased that his sister approved of his find.

Zuko saw it otherwise. He could have sworn Katara was close to tears. _'I'm seeing things,'_ he told himself, _'And besides, why should I care if she's homesick?'_

"Well, I bet it's pretty expensive, and besides," Katara laughed shortly, "we have a hard enough time getting everything to fit on Appa's back as it is. But thank you for showing it to me, Sokka."

"Hey, Katara – are you all right?" Sokka asked anxiously.

_'**Now** you realize it,'_ Zuko thought, rolling his eyes heaven-ward, _'Idiot.'_

"Of course, Sokka, don't be silly!" Katara placed the penguin in her bother's hands and turned to leave, slipping past Zuko before he could move aside. "We have to finish getting the rest of the supplies! Aang and the others are waiting for us." Without even waiting for them to follow, she hurried out into the street.

"Will I be wrapping this up for you?"

The two young men started, and whirled to find themselves face-to-face with a tall woman, whose dark brunette hair had been coiled into two buns on either side of her head. Her dark-painted lips were quirked up in a mysterious, knowing smile.

_'What is it, exactly, that she knows?'_ Zuko wondered.

"Nah, sorry – can't afford it," apologized Sokka, handing the stuffed penguin to the proprietress of the stall, "I just wanted to show it to my little sister."

"You're from the South Pole, am I right?" the woman observed coolly, accepting the toy, "I recognized the style of your boomerang."

"Yeah, we are." Sokka was a little surprised, but the woman hardly seemed threatening - she owned a _toy shop_ for La's sake.

"Ah – far from home, aren't you? At least she has you to count on," said the woman.

Sokka blushed slightly. "I try," he admitted, putting one hand behind his head.

The woman smiled, her grey-green eyes warming. "Of course. Have a good evening – I believe your sister is waiting for you."

"Huh? Oh yeah – bye!" Sokka turned and jogged out of the stall, his head turning side to side as he looked for Katara.

"Good evening," Zuko bid the woman shortly, turning on his heel.

"Take care of yourselves," she said quietly, "All of you."

Zuko paused, and looked back over his shoulder. The shopkeeper still held the penguin in her hands, and made no move to put it back.

_'I must be mad…'_ Zuko thought, turning to face her.

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The first thing Katara saw when she woke up the next morning was a pair of beady black eyes staring at her from a ghostly white face.

"EEEEEEEeeeeeeeee-yyaaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhh!"

"Whoa!"

"Ack!"

"Huh? Are we under attack again?"

"Snurg-wha!"

"Urrrrgh…"

After apologizing profusely to her companions for awakening them so rudely ("That's okay, Katara!" Aang piped, "It was time for us to get up anyway!" "Speak for yourself, Twinkle Toes," Toph grumbled, before sending him off to do push-ups with a boulder on his back), Katara sidled over to her bleary-eyed brother, grinning madly.

"That was sneaky of you, Sokka, but thanks!" she said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a rib-cracking hug, "I love it!"

"Ow – hey!" Sokka, now more-or-less awake, nursed his tender torso. "What are you talking about, Katara?"

"Oh ha ha, very funny, Sokka," Katara said sarcastically; really, Sokka did not know when to let a joke just _die_. "You knew it reminded me of home, so you got it for me when my back was turned!"

"Huh?" Sokka managed, completely befuddled at this point.

"The penguin, Sokka, the one you showed me yesterday," Katara spelled out for him, bringing the topic of discussion into view, "He's so cute, and he really does make me think of Gran-Gran and the village and… everything else." She cradled the precious toy in her arms, knowing she was sounding and acting like a child and honestly did not care.

"Okay, that's great," Sokka replied, finally understanding just what the hell his sister had been babbling on about, "Only, I didn't buy that penguin for you – you hold the purse-strings, remember?"

"But, if you didn't, then…?" Katara trailed off, staring at him in confusion.

"I dunno," said Sokka with a shrug; had it been any later (and after breakfast), he might have been more willing to ponder the mysteries of the Universe and Stuffed Penguins with Katara, but for now, food was calling.

_'But if it wasn't Sokka, then it had to be…'_ Katara's eyes snapped over to the only other member of their market expedition.

"What are you looking at, peasant?" Zuko asked snidely.

"Nothing!" Katara snapped automatically, turning her back to him with a huff. _'I must be mad, thinking that **Zuko**, of all people…'_

Zuko lowered his head, smiling a small mysteriously knowing smile as Katara stomped away, clutching the stuffed penguin to her chest.

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P. S. – Katara named her new toy "Zuiuloapingazoozle." ("Zuzu," for short). There is a pic of Katara huggling him in my devART gallery. The link is in my profile.

_**FIN**_


	6. Ignore the Obvious

This one is sheer silliness, and really, I ougth not to end the series on such an abrupt note. (shrugs) If I have time during my studies...

**Prompt: **#35 _just think happy thoughts, _from **Irrel's** "My Chemical Romance" fic-challenge (on LiveJournal)

**Summary:** Ignore the obvious. You'll be glad you did.

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**_Ignore the Obvious_**

Sokka returned from an unsuccessful hunt to find two of the party conspicuously absent. "Where…?" he began.

"They went off thatta way," Toph said before he could even ask, chucking her thumb over her shoulder toward the woods behind her.

"At this time of day?" Sokka demanded, somewhere between surprise and disgust, "I thought we were all tired from fighting off those Fire Nation bounty hunters!"

"I guess they weren't," Aang observed (somewhat more acerbically than was his wont, but Sokka might have just been hearing things). "They started even _before_ they left the camp."

"What!" Sokka turned on the one person who had thus kept out of the conversation. "You really need to talk to that nephew of yours," he said to Iroh, trying to keep his tone respectful, "I know it was inevitable and all, and I said I wouldn't try to get in their way, but he's taking things too far!"

Iroh cocked an eyebrow, sorely tempted to point out that it takes two to tango (or whatever the Water Tribe equivalent was). However, the retired general merely suggested, "When they return, perhaps it would be best if we all voiced our concerns to them. Your sister and my nephew can be made to see reason."

"As if, the way they go at each other," Toph snorted.

Sokka frowned, and decided to ignore her.

And the not-quite-distant-enough shouts he could hear from the forest.

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"Is that all you got, Zuzu?" Katara crooned, sweeping tangles of sweat-soaked hair from her face.

Zuko vehemently wished the Avatar could have kept his airhole shut about his unfortunate nickname, but he was enjoying himself far too much to let her know that it bothered him.

"I'm just getting started," he replied huskily.

"Hmph."

Fire and water rejoined in battle.

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"It was an argument over how to fold _tarp_!" Sokka asked, bewildered.

Iroh, Aang, Toph, and even Momo nodded.

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Yeah... ya'll got dirty minds... (The Narrator cackles like the mad-woman she is) Wish me luck in Japan!


End file.
